Product Details
- An MVD Exclusive
- SKU: BCD16096
- Format: CD
- UPC: 5397102160967
- Street Date: 06/27/14
- PreBook Date: 01/01/01
- Label: Bear Family Records »
- Genre: Pop/Rock
- Run Time: 128 mins
- Number of Discs: 2
- Year of Production: 2014
- Box Lot: 25
- Territory: NORTH AMERICA
- Language: English
Product Assets
Charles & Berthold Brecht Laughton - Dear Brecht
?2-CD digipac with 116-page booklet, 31 tracks. Total playing time approx. 128 mns
- List Price: $29.99 New Price!
- Your Price: $22.49
- In Stock: [{"available":"0"}]
You must login to place orders.
Charles Laughton - a world star joins the Brecht team ''Dear Brecht... ''
In March 1944, a chance meeting between three men in Santa Monica had far-reaching consequences. Playwright Bertolt Brecht and composer Hanns Eisler had worked together in Germany long before their period of exile in California. During an evening in the home of actress Salka Viertel, they found themselves in conversation with the famous British actor Charles Laughton. Brecht and Eisler had both seen Laughton in 'The Private Life Of Henry VIII'. When Brecht mentioned how much he liked the scene where Laughton played the English King devouring rather than eating a chicken, the actor was delighted. This broke the ice. Soon, the three would be working together.
Brecht appeared in Laughton's life at the right time. The latter had not trodden the boards for almost a decade, very much to his regret. Right from the beginning he showed an interest in Brecht's dramatic productions. In return, the German emigrant admired the great actor. At the time Laughton was preparing his first voice recording for the Decca record company: two Bible excerpts ('The Story Of The Three Wise Men' / 'The Oldest Christmas Story') along with the Christmas chapter from the Dickens novel 'The Pickwick Papers. ' Eisler suggested he could write small pieces of accompanying music, and Laughton agreed. The composer opted for a quintet line-up and the gramophone records were recorded in September 1944 at Decca's Hollywood studios. Here they are re-issued on CD for the first time.
The Christmas recording sold very well, and soon the record company was considering another Biblical release as a follow-up: an excerpt from the Book of Genesis, 'In The Beginning. ' When Laughton mentioned this, Brecht suggested that Laughton speak the text several times, in different versions, in a series of ''exercises''. ...Read more at: https://www.bear-family.de/
Track Listing
Disc 1:
|